Alien-Human Hybrid

Well. I've decided to pack up shop and move to Livejournal. Please feel free to join me there; I hope that you will. The problem (and for anyone who does not have a Livejournal, the annoyance) is that I often friends-lock my entries, not because they're intensely personal but because I feel better keeping some of my posts visible only to the people I know or want to know. If you are interested, sign up for a Livejournal account -- it's free -- and request to be my friend (God only knows why you'd want to!). Then, you can read my friends-locked posts, even though I do not promise they will be entertaining or worth reading.

I know this is a lot of trouble but I enjoy posting on Livejournal much better than posting here. And it's getting difficult to maintain two blogs, so I'm going to try to blend the two and create a kind of potpourri blog. A little of everything.

Here is my new home, which is still Alien-Human Hybrid: http://jorvik.livejournal.com/

(Livejournal's address is http://www.livejournal.com/.)

Labels: Blogging, Livejournal

Posted by Sara at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments

1. Blogger is far too sassy for my taste. Time for a move, methinks.

2. Is it really necessary for the folks at Trinity College to shout from the rooftops that a severe stomach flu is wreaking havoc throughout campus? Do I really need to know that? Does it - in any way - help my mild (though slowly turning not-so mild) hypochondria? And must they insist on sharing the fact that sufferers are vomiting "as many as 20 times in 6 hours"?

Labels: Blogging, Hypochondria

Posted by Sara at 3:31 PM | Permalink | Comments

Taking (and enjoying) the "Blogging On" class this past semester has placed me in a difficult predicament. I used to blog more often and more about daily life -- especially in my other, more private blog -- but knowing that I have accumulated a small (alright, minuscule) readership from taking the class has somehow paralyzed me. I'm plagued with the gnawing question: Do I have anything interesting to say? I always turn up with a big, fat "no" and thus, I don't blog. I mean, who wants to hear about my long walks on campus, what I had for dinner or how I found the perfect pair of jeans this weekend? No one. These things, however, are what I enjoy writing about in my blogs.

The problem is that I now don't blog in my older, more personal blog either because I feel a sense of loyalty (perhaps responsibility?) to "Alien Human Hybrid." I've watched it grow and I enjoy receiving feedback, which didn't happen as often with my other blog because I had a two-person readership. Literally.

I'm thinking too much.

Labels: Blogging

Posted by Sara at 4:37 PM | Permalink | Comments

An interesting article on blogging from Writer's Digest's e-Newsletter: http://www.writersdigest.com/articles/weinman_blogged_and_burned.asp

Labels: Blogging

Posted by Sara at 5:51 PM | Permalink | Comments

My first semester of graduate school is complete. Wrap it up and put it under the tree!

I have some rather lofty goals for the "winter break," which starts - for me - tomorrow afternoon, when my half-day at work ends:

• Blog every day, even if I don't have anything to say.
• Read a lot, including a big, fat classic novel and something by Stephen King.
• Successfully cook a dinner that is not microwavable or stored in a can.
• ...And if that goes well, bake something from scratch.
• Discover some crevice of X-Files fandom I have not yet explored.

In other news, I'm about as jolly as St. Nick himself lately. What a beautiful time of year. If I could, I'd wear a Santa suit 24 hours a day, for the next four days. Now that's festive!

Labels: Academics, Blogging, Christmas

Posted by Sara at 1:10 PM | Permalink | Comments

As the semester is nearing its end, I've been wondering what will happen to my blog. Part of me wants to discontinue it and return to my more private (but in no way more interesting) Livejournal. Part of me wants to keep it going for a while and let it run on its own -- without the assistance of writing prompts from the blogging class. Of course, in doing this I'd probably end up creating a weird blog that seems to be written by feminist muppet who reads a lot and obsesses over The X-Files.

And I'd probably end up turning my minuscule readership away.

Eh.

I'm also wondering what will happen to the other class blogs, who have given me daily doses of interesting, insightful and funny writing. Will I start going through some sort of www.trinblogwarriors.blogspot.com withdrawal? Meep.

Labels: Blogging

Posted by Sara at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments

I think Livejournal is different from "other" blogging sites, perhaps Livejournals aren't even blogs in the traditional sense (if there is a traditional sense). I think Suzan, who insulted our professor, said this well: Many of the entries in LJ may refer to events or discussions that happen in another venue, be it instant messenger, telephone, or face to face, and there is much recursive, esoteric, and self-referential conversation that takes place on LJ that simply doesn't occur in a one to many blog paradigm.

Livejournal hastens the process that Colin often diagrams in class: the one where X number of knitters are blogging and communicating with one another, and X number of Lamont supporters are blogging and communicating, and then some knitters crossover to the Lamont blogs because they're also Lamont supporters and vice versa. So there's this ever growing, ever changing blog community. Livejournal makes that process easier. You can set up a Livejournal, search for common interests and join communities based on shared interests. Then, through commenting in a community or clicking on a blogger's user info, you can decide to "friend" a blogger, allowing both of you to be on one another's friends list, which gives each of you permission to view each other's friends-locked entries. The cool thing is you always have control over who can view your entries. And you can even create your own community and decide who can and cannot join your community by becoming a maintainer of a community.

I've mentioned this before, but Livejournal is its own species, sort of.

I'll probably return soon with a list of some cool things I think are happening at LJ, but for now, it's me and my tissue box. We are one these days.

For the record, I disagree with this:
Colin said...
Well, I'm a very bad professor. There's no getting around that.
4:49 AM

Labels: Blogging, Livejournal

Posted by Sara at 9:07 PM | Permalink | Comments

So. This is the first class I've missed, and I just want to comment on how fantastic it is to be able to check in at trinblogwarriors.blogspot.com and catch up on what I've missed, from the professor's perspective as well as from my classmates' perspectives. I know it's now common to use the internet and email and even Blackboard in academic settings, but those tools do not seem to provide the same communal feel that blogs do. Because this class forces us not just to absorb information and respond to it, but to respond to it in a public forum and then respond to the responses of other students, we really do form a sort of tribe, a close knit community where we can continually challenge ourselves. And where a sick tribe member can feel like she's still part of the campfire without really being there. (Is this feverish talk?)

My initial point (the one I intended to make) is that I think blogging is an amazing tool for the classroom, one that has the potential to keep everyone active in the discussions or, at least, aware of the discussions. Maybe blogging will grow in academic popularity?

I'm mixing topics here (forgive me, Nielsen!), but Livejournal is going to be an awesome thing to discuss. I can barely contain my excitement. Squee!

Labels: Academics, Blogging

Posted by Sara at 9:52 AM | Permalink | Comments

I'm sick, again. Twice! Twice in one semester! I'm sort of bummed about missing tonight's class because exploring the visual aspects of blogs sounds like a dandy way to spend an evening, but I promise I wouldn't be useful for anything other than spreading germs and blowing my nose.

The blog that Caitlin likes seems to be a perfect combination of visual stimuli and "wordsmithery." Caitlin and Dan discussed this a little in our comments thread. Each aspect appeals to me because I think the author is quite good at both of them. This is a blog I'll probably continue to visit.

As for the weblog usability guide that Steph found, I have to admit I was a bit skeptical at the start because I'm (still) convinced that the anything-goes, frontier land quality of blogging is a huge part of not just its appeal but also of its identity. So maybe I wasn't the best person to read this. Regardless, I'm not convinced. Author bios and photos are, for me, the least important aspects of blogs. As this site explains: "What we tune in for is the author's voice, not their CV." I think what we're attracted to in a blog (and what makes us come back for more) is the voice, the writing, the ideas or emotions or even the particular slant of the blog. For me, knowing about the author always seems to take a back seat.

Also, Nielsen calls "mixing topics" a no-no, but wasn't randomness one of the primary "qualities of blogging" we listed in class? Part of the reason I return to the blogs I read is because I enjoy the surprise of what the authors say next. Variety is the spice of blogging, if you will.

Labels: Blogging

Posted by Sara at 1:11 PM | Permalink | Comments

I'm back. From the flaming pits of hell otherwise known as annotated bibliography, which, by the way, I believe to be more difficult to produce than the actual critical essay. The process is intense: read as much material as humanly possible relating to your essay, discern what is useful and what is not, re-read the useful ones, succinctly summarize each of them and finally, bring it all together by relating each piece to your thesis. Oh, and do it in an orderly fashion. Or else!

Moving, er, blogging on, pseudonyms are kind of interesting in themselves, without considering the anonymity of them. What I mean is, the pseudonyms people choose are often revealing, just not revealing of identity. Think of Caffeinated Geek Girl, Bitch PhD (which was listed somewhere in the reading for tonight's class and which I like), Whiskey Bar, Spazeboy. They all hint at certain qualities of the blogger, either real or desired. So I think that pseudonyms, though commonly used to maintain anonymity, are chosen as a sort of mark or brand. A "hey, this is me" kind of thing. Of course, there are probably many instances where this is not true, but I think that because there's always some desire to personalize what you write and what you create, to mark it in some unique way, to own it or at least attach yourself to it, pseudonyms represent the blogger, if not identify them.

I chose to be known as Sara, my real name, when I post, but I put considerable thought into my site name and my url. Why? Because I wanted this blog to represent me in some way.

Also, the nutsy boltsy link about how to post anonymously is sort of strange. Solid advice, but it has me thinking about how I generally avoid blogging about work, about specific people or revealing events. It always seems like the "right" thing to do, but it would be such fun to let loose and blog the way that I journal. Maybe I should?

Labels: Academics, Blogging

Posted by Sara at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments

I'm excited to launch into this week's assignment and discuss my relationship with information, but I think a "thank you" is in order. Thanks, CT Bloggers! You were engaging and informative and challenging. Not to mention, it was wonderful to see the faces behind the blogs.

Labels: Academics, Blogging

Posted by Sara at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments

I shall now be known not as Sara but as The Thing That Does Homework.

I've been drowning in a little sea I like to call Annotated Bibliography (AB), so I haven't posted much about what we're discussing this week, unfortunately.

A few notes:

1. Our leader's post is hilarious.
2. Kristen wrote a very thoughtful, well-written post that you might want to check out.
3. This was an interesting read, particularly the conclusion:
Internet political professionals often concentrate our attention on the particular tools we use to get our messages out, but the real effect of the Internet and the electronics explosion of the last 15 years has been the immense deepening and broadening of the sea of information in which we now swim. Our biggest task is just to get noticed as we drift along.
4. LamontBlog's "Last Call" post was fitting: a showing of success rather than defeat. Though Lieberman may have won, Lamont didn't lose. Well said: We took on one major party in the primary, and we won an historic victory. But, in so many ways, we had to take on the combined efforts of two major parties in the general - an even more herculean task that, amazingly, we almost pulled off too.
5. I'm looking forward to tonight's class.

Labels: Academics, Blogging, Politics

Posted by Sara at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Comments

I can't. I can't write this annotated bibliography. I've done, oh, 85% of the reading (a good thing), but I cannot bring myself to sit down and start putting the damn thing together. I just can't.

Labels: Academics, Blogging, Internet

Posted by Sara at 3:19 PM | Permalink | Comments

I just switched to the beta version of blogger!

Also, vote!

Labels: Blogging, Politics

Posted by Sara at 1:17 PM | Permalink | Comments

Monday's class, despite Colin's absence, was wonderful. The casual group discussion allowed me to get to know the people of the class, not just the blogs of the class, which was a pleasant experience. Everyone was really engaged in the conversation and each person offered a unique perspective.

We dug into some interesting stuff about ethics in blogging, including the negative aspects to the anarchic internet "frontier land." While it's exciting to explore this generally lawless territory, there is both offensive and frightening material open for all eyes. Kristen, for instance, mentioned a particularly disturbing blog about abortion. And Kirsten, in her blog, addressed the issue of using full names when making threatening or disparaging remarks in blogs. The problem is, it's very hard to decided what, if anything, to do about such things.

It was great to bounce ideas around in class about possible accreditation for blogs/bloggers, guidelines about using full names, guidelines similar to or different from journalism guidelines and -- if we were to establish such guidelines -- how they might change in a political/journalistic blog vs. a personal blog.

Still, for me, the bottom line is that, for right now, the unrestricted nature of the internet prevents us from developing serious guidelines for everyone. And isn't some (or much) of the appeal of the internet and of blogging its freedom, its spontaneity, its anything-can-happen quality?

Either way, Monday's class was "good times."

Labels: Academics, Blogging

Posted by Sara at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments

This article presents a vague set of blogging guidelines based on the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. I think it's a nice idea. And I think Jay Rosen's suggestion is really interesting (excuse the length):

What do we, as a community, need to do to enhance the respect internet journalists receive in the world at large? My first answer is: we have to look for it.

We should major in transparency; the “major” media will take a minor in that. Diversity of outlook in the reporters ultimately improves the reporting. The blogosphere has advantages there, especially as it does more reporting.

I think we have to accept that Big Media, which isn’t going anywhere, is society’s default legitimacy-distribution machine. But that doesn’t mean it works well. The machine itself can lose legitimacy without exactly falling apart. If you’re an upstart publisher of news and you suck at it, Big Media will try to ignore you. If you’re an upstart publisher of news and you’re really good at it, Big Media will try to ignore you. Then when you assume the shape of a writes-itself story—first bloggers to go the political conventions!—Big Media will over-cover you, spreading a small bit of understanding over lots and lots of stories. Six months later it’s time to debunk the trend they missed, then over-hyped and finally misdescribed. It’s not personal. It’s protective. It’s also cheaper than figuring out what’s going on.

And, I also think that no matter what guidelines are created or what ideas are brought forward about internet journalism and blogging ethics, there's still a kind of untamed frontier land quality about blogging, as we've discussed frequently in class. And as Jay Rosen goes on to say:

What some people can’t seem to get over is that other people can say any damn thing they want on the Internet! How can you trust any of it? is their natural reaction to all open systems. Closed systems—and professional journalism is one—develop trust in one way. Open systems have to do it a much different way. Expecting one to look like the other is unreasonable.

On the one hand, I appreciate that internet journalists and bloggers want to be taken seriously and respected (and hence, would benefit from ethical guidelines). On the other hand, I'm attracted to the wildness of the internet, the "anything goes" quality of it, and the fact that I have to do a little extra work to find the truth (or rather, to find the nearest thing to the truth). Perhaps as we move forward and as blogging becomes more important, we'll start seeing more stringent guidelines and ethical codes, but how, then, will the frontier land change?

Labels: Blogging

Posted by Sara at 2:28 PM | Permalink | Comments

We're asked: What is it about blogging and humor?

There's a short and easy answer: Because everything on the internet is designed to be fast-paced, if you're going to stay with a page for a long time, it better be high-quality and of particular interest to you or it better have enough humor to move you along. I believe this is true, but I have an inkling that there's more to it than this. Sure, it's easier to glide through a blog entry if you're entertained by humor, but why is humor so common? Why use it more than, I don't know, images or very short sentences/posts or bulleted lists or lots of links? It seems to be one of the most common qualities of blogs; they're funny. Perhaps it's more about humor than about blogging. What I mean is, humor (in any form) is a sort of speedy thing. A joke can be long, but the "hit," the pinnacle, the funniest part is quick. And wit is best when it's quick (hence, quick-witted). Humor is a punch -- fast and powerful. Even stand-up comics always seem to move and speak with unearthly energy.

Maybe blogs are a perfect medium for humor rather than humor being a perfect device for blogs?

Labels: Blogging

Posted by Sara at 9:11 PM | Permalink | Comments

seen this? I'm not sure if it has already been covered in one of the class blogs, but I had to post it. Look at the entry on the word "blog."

Labels: Blogging

Posted by Sara at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments

This blew my mind. Though I've thought (and written) about the communal nature of blogs and delighted in the collaborative efforts of MetaFilter and Wikipedia, I've never pushed it one step further into what Teilhard calls a "vast thinking membrane...containing our collective thoughts and experiences." Since infancy, we're taught to work in groups, to share, and to listen. But to me, these things always seemed confined to classrooms and homes and office spaces (in other words, confined to person-to-person contact), but in thinking of the internet as a membrane wherein our collective thoughts and experiences lie brings a new dimension to the concept of "teamwork."

And when we join together, when we collaboratively blog and create sites like MetaFilter, are we building something that will soon take its own course, have its own "life" no longer under our control? It certainly seems that way. Let's look at MetaFilter. It was created by "bloggers" but now seems to sort of exist on its own, morphing as the users and their ideas multiply. Though I love The X-Files and have a geeky penchant for the Sci-Fi channel and horror movies, I've always found the idea of life in computers, within the internet or on blogging sites impossible.

Now, I'm not so sure about that.

Sheesh! I still have boingboing-ing to do.

Labels: Academics, Blogging, MetaFilter

Posted by Sara at 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments

1. I've often thought of my life as an endless series of awkward moments. I've thought about this so often, in fact, that I once considered starting a blog that only included the awkward moments of my life: nervous elevator conversations, dropping things at crucial moments, falling down various sets of stairs, the bizarre go-ahead-no-you-go-no-really-ok-ok dance in which I always seem to get stuck, excitedly imitating a great kill scene from a Friday the 13th film in a Board meeting and then realizing I went just a little too far. You know, things we can all relate to.

This only came to mind today because I remembered that I fell down the stage stairs at a CODS show this weekend. I tell you: awkward moments, one right after another.

2. Livejournal. I've had a Livejournal for three or four years now, and the more I learn in this class, the more interested I am in how Livejournal works. It's sort of its own species. I mean, it is a blogging site, but it's also a web of forums (communities). And good icons are the much-desired art of the Livejournal world; some people enter icon contests and some people pay to have unlimited icons. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something about Livejournal is different from other blogging sites, even the similarly youthful Xanga. And I know people chock up Livejournal to a teen diary site, but it's pretty in-depth and some people are doing some really cool things with it.

3. Further evidence of my crotchety old lady status: I have a bad back.

Labels: Awkward Moments, Blogging, I'm An Old Lady

Posted by Sara at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments